What did Donald Trump do today?

He got very upset about a lot of things that were his fault.

Trump spent a rare Saturday away from the clubhouse of one of his resorts today, traveling to Malaysia. Ostensibly, the occasion was the biannual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. But in practice, Trump was preoccupied for much of the day with old grievances about self-inflicted wounds.

This year's ASEAN summit provided an opportunity for other nations to take stock of the chaos caused by Trump's unilateral trade war against the rest of the world—and to profit from it. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, in particular, was poised and eager to move his country into the vacuum created by Trump's trade barriers, particularly where China was concerned. Carney capitalized on the chaos caused by Trump's seemingly random and tantrum-driven tariffs by reminding Asian leaders of Canada's stability and respect for international law. 

Trump, for his part, announced a couple more "frameworks" for future agreements, although these would only keep the prices of imported goods at their current elevated level—vastly higher than markets in other countries—and then only for as long as he keeps his word. Since Trump seems to let his famously unpredictable mood govern how high he sets trade barriers, that may not be long: he recently added 10% to the taxes American consumers pay on Canadian goods just because a television ad made him upset.

Trump's mood was generally not good today, either. He spoke today at what was supposed to be a chance to take credit for a "peace deal" between Cambodia and Indonesia. (No such deal exists; the simmering border dispute between the two countries continues.) But he broke into his prepared remarks to complain that the United Nations hadn't already resolved the dispute, which led him quickly to a conspiratorial rant about the broken escalator and teleprompter at his most recent appearance before the General Assembly. (As was widely and conclusively reported on at the time, Trump staffers were responsible for both of those minor glitches.)

Trump also fell back on what has become an emotional soothing ritual: demanding on social media that he really did win the 2020 election, and that his political enemies be prosecuted over the fact of his loss.

What’s worse, the NBA Players cheating at cards, and probably much else, or the Democrats cheating on Elections. The 2020 Presidential Election, being Rigged and Stolen, is a far bigger SCANDAL. Look what happened to our Country when a Crooked Moron became our “President!” We now know everything. I hope the DOJ pursues this with as much “gusto” as befitting the biggest SCANDAL in American history! If not, it will happen again, including the upcoming Midterms. No mail-in or “Early” Voting, Yes to Voter ID! Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is! Millions of Ballots being “shipped.” GET SMART REPUBLICANS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!! 

Trump has installed his own defense lawyers as the senior leadership of the Department of Justice, and they've shown a willingness to bring criminal charges simply because Trump demands it. (Career prosecutors who have refused to bring baseless charges have been summarily fired.) But it will be an uphill battle in this case: it is not, under the law and Constitution, illegal for Donald Trump to lose an election or for the rest of the federal and state governments to notice that he lost an election.

Why does this matter?

• Nobody who thought his side would win a fair election would be trying to discredit elections. 

• In a democracy, being a political enemy of the leader is not a crime. 

• Travel can be difficult, but even with that excuse, Presidents who can't control their emotions aren't fit to serve.